Sept. 21, 2001 – Mike Piazza’s Dramatic Post-9/11 Home Run
Immediately after 9/11, America ground to a halt. The MLB temporarily stopped the regular season for a week as the country grappled with this tragedy. While some teams resumed their schedule on Sept. 17, New York City was absent of baseball until Sept. 21, when the Mets took on the Braves in Shea Stadium for the first sporting event in the city following 9/11.
A somber uncertainty floated among the 41,235 fans in attendance. While we have the benefit of hindsight now, at the time many people worried that more attacks were on the horizon. This baseball game was a brief reprieve from everyday life, one way to help New Yorkers recover from the collective trauma they had experienced.
The Braves led the division with a 79-67 record, while the Mets were 74-73 and unlikely to make the wild card as they were stuck behind five other teams. Nonetheless, the passionate, storied rivalry between these two teams and the broader context to this game ensured that it would be an extremely emotional battle.
The starters for each team, Jason Marquis for the Braves and Bruce Chen for the Mets, rewarded the fans with a pitching duel, with both teams scoring just one run through the first seven innings. Marquis ended with a line of 1 ER, 7 H, 4 K and 0 BB over 6 IP. Chen performed even better, letting up 1 R (0 ER), 6 H, 5 K and 1 BB over 7 IP.
The drama really picked up in the eighth inning. John Franco came on in relief of Chen, working the first two outs on eight pitches before he walked the ageless wonder Julio Franco and gave up a single to Chipper Jones. The Mets then brought in reliever Armando Benitez, who immediately gave up an RBI double to Brian Jordan before getting the last out.
In the bottom of the inning, the first two Mets batters worked tough counts, but they only had a groundout and a walk to show for it. With one man on and one out, Mike Piazza stepped up to plate to face Braves reliever Steve Karsay.
Piazza took the first pitch, a fastball down the middle, for a strike. Piazza, who was seen with tears in his eyes during the pregame ceremony, later described this at-bat as a “dream, sort of surreal.” But he was able to hone in and focus on the next pitch, a fastball that missed its spot on the outside and instead found itself heading toward the center of the zone. Piazza pounced on this ball, driving it deep over the center-field fence as Shea Stadium went wild.
This 3-2 lead was all the Mets needed as they retired the Braves 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth to earn the win. With this dramatic blast, Piazza provided a brief reprieve for the millions of New Yorkers yearning for a return to normalcy. A small moment of happiness for a city that truly needed it.
Sept. 23, 1988 – Jose Canseco Becomes First 40/40 Player
Jose Canseco will be forever inseparably linked to PEDs as they played a huge role in transforming Canseco into one of the most prolific stars of his era. Following his debut and cup of coffee at just 20 years old in 1985, he kicked off his career on a roll, with 33 and 31 homers in his second and third seasons, respectively. Canseco is one of nine people on a star-studded list of hitters who recorded 30+ homers twice before their age-23 season. Look at the legendary names on this list: Eddie Mathews, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Robinson, Ted Williams, Albert Pujols, Jimmie Foxx, Mike Trout, and Miguel Cabrera. Four current HOFers, three future members, and A-Rod.
Canseco followed up this red-hot start with his best season yet in 1988. This year saw Canseco aim for a mark that no one had ever done before: 40 home runs, 40 steals.
There have been 15 different 30-30 seasons since the first one in 1922 by Ken Williams. The closest person to joining the 40-40 club had been Bobby Bonds, who recorded 39 homers and 43 steals in 1973. Bonds had five 30-30 seasons in total, a mark that has since only been matched by his son. You may have heard of him.
But Canseco felt that he could do the impossible.
In fact, in April of ’88, Canseco predicted that he would become the first member of the 40-40 club. He kept a consistent, torrid pace throughout the year, hitting .290/.383/.533 with 24 HR, and 22 SB in 87 games before the All-Star break.
In the second half, Canseco played even better. In his next 63 games, he would record 16 HR and 16 SB, entering the Athletics game against the Brewers on Sept. 23, 1988 with 40 HR and 38 SB on the year.
It didn’t take long for Canseco to leave his mark on the basepaths and at the plate. In the first inning, he drove a single to right field on a full count, stealing second during the next at-bat for No. 39 on the year. Although Canseco grounded out in his next AB, he followed that up with a bunt single in the fifth. With an unoccupied second base staring him straight down, Canseco ran into history as he sprinted for the bag, challenging the arm of Brewers catcher B.J. Surhoff.
This monumental achievement helped propel Canseco to earning the MVP award, finishing the year hitting .307/.391/.569 with 42 HR, 40 SB:16 CS, 142 RBI, 120 R, 169 wRC+ and 7.6 fWAR. Canseco also led the Athletics to the AL Pennant, although they lost the World Series in five games to the Dodgers.
Nobody would join Canseco in the illustrious 40-40 club until Barry Bonds did so in ’96.
Sept. 25, 1965 – Satchel Paige Starts at Age 59
Satchel Paige made his MLB debut when most players have already retired, at 42 years old. This was just one small chapter in the never-ending saga that was Paige’s career, which spanned decades, countries, and dozens of teams.
The legends and lore that surround Paige in his prime paint him as an incomparable talent. Sometimes, Paige called in his fielders, leaving just himself on the mound as he then easily struck out the opposing side. He partnered a bottomless assortment of pitches with a dizzying array of deliveries, leading legends like Joe DiMaggio and Bob Feller to declare Paige the best pitcher they ever saw.
Most major league hitters didn’t get a glimpse of Paige until he was in the twilight of his career. From ages 42 to 47, Paige held opposing batters to the tune of a 3.31 ERA/124 ERA+ in 473 IP spread out over five seasons.
Paige left the majors after the ’53 season, hopping around various minor league/independent teams and making a few appearances with the Harlem Globetrotters.
But in 1965, more than a decade after his last MLB appearance, Paige received some news: Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley planned a “Satchel Paige Appreciation Night” on Sept. 25 as a way to drive attendance for team that was on a speeding bullet to last place in the American League. The main draw: a 59-year-old Paige starting on the mound.
Paige felt that he could still pitch, and although he sat in a rocking chair with a nurse on hand for his shoulder, his performance showed he hadn’t missed a beat.
He wasn’t absolutely perfect in the first inning, giving up a two-out double to future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. But Paige got the next batter, young phenom Tony Conigliaro, to fly out to left. This began a perfect stretch in which Paige retired seven batters in a row. Don’t forget, he’s almost 60!
#OTD in 1965, Satchel Paige pitches three scoreless innings for @Athletics at age 59(!) @SABRGames story: https://t.co/IHeL7V1pIC #SABR pic.twitter.com/UcPQc3L3fQ
— SABR (@sabr) September 25, 2017
His final line: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB and 1 K on just 28 pitches. Not bad for someone who’s basically a senior citizen.
Sept. 26, 2013 – Mariano Rivera’s Last Game
Many Yankees fans, like myself, had buried the idea of Mariano Rivera’s retirement in the back of our minds. He aged like fine wine, peaking in his mid-30s as he posted a sub-2 ERA every year except one from ages 33 to 41.
But in May ’12, when he was 42, tragedy struck when Rivera tore his ACL while shagging balls in batting practice. It seemed like his career had come to a sudden and abrupt end.
Rivera refused to go out like that. In March ’13, he announced he would play one more year and then retire.
He initially started the season shaky by his standards, letting up 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB with 2 K over his first three innings. That’s a great stretch for most relievers, but that didn’t pass muster for Rivera. He quickly returned to his typical dominant form, finishing the first half with a 1.83 ERA and 32 K:7 BB over 34.1 IP.
Unfortunately, the baseball season doesn’t last forever, and on Sept. 26, Enter Sandman rang out in Yankee Stadium for the last time.
Rivera took over in the eighth inning with one out and two runners on base in a non-save situation as the Yankees were down 4-0 after Dellin Betances let up two runs. Just like he had done hundreds of times before, Rivera took charge of the situation and neutralized the threat, retiring the next two batters on five pitches.
He returned from the dugout for the top of the ninth inning to thunderous applause. Weaponizing his famous bat-shredding cutter, Rivera generated weak contact, forcing a grounder back to the mound and a pop fly to second for the first two outs. Before he could retire the last batter, Rivera was interrupted as his longtime teammates and close friends, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter, walked out to the mound to take Rivera out of the game in one of the most emotional goodbyes in baseball history.
Rivera ended the year with 44 saves, a 2.11 ERA/190 ERA+, and 54 K:9 BB over 64 IP.
To this day, I still believe that Rivera could come back as a great reliever. If Satchel Paige could dazzle at 59, why couldn’t Mo?